Staten Island Neighborhood Profile: Woodrow

During the years between 1729 and 1735, John Wesley and a group of his classmates from Oxford began to have meetings in Epworth, North Lincolnshire, England regarding their religious beliefs, known as the Holy Club. Students at the school mockingly called the members of the Holy Club "Methodists" because their beliefs opposed those of the Church of England. The "Methodists" accepted the name and by the mid-eighteenth century, their movement had spread and became known as Methodism.

In 1763, eighteen-year-old Francis Asbury became a local Methodist lay preacher in England. Four years later, he was chosen by John Wesley to be a traveling preacher. In 1771, Asbury traveled to the Thirteen Colonies. At this time, he preached at Peter Van Pelt's house on Staten Island. By 1787, a congregation was established and soon after, New York City's first Methodist church was built.

For many years, the neighborhood of Huguenot included many more streets than it does today. Recently, the western part of the neighborhood became its own neighborhood, known as Woodrow. The reason for this is that the Methodist church spoken of above was built here. The church was called the Woodrow Methodist Church because it was constructed at 1109 Woodrow Road. The church that stands at the address was built in 1842, replacing the first church, which had been destroyed by a fire. In 1982, the current Woodrow United Methodist Church, as it is called today, was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, Woodrow is one of Staten Island's more modern communities. However, the area does feature some older homes. Woodrow is bordered by the more populated towns of Rossville, to the east and Pleasant Plains to its south. Sometimes, there is considerable confusion about Woodrow's boundaries, especially when attempting to recognize it between two other towns, Rossville and Pleasant Plains, which border Woodrow. The neighborhood of Charleston also sits to the west, but is separated Clay Pit Pond Park, creating a distinguishable natural boundary.

Woodrow was considerably developed from the 1980's on, consequently, knoledge of its existence is sometimes limited to those who live on Staten Island's South Shore. However, what does exist there, from a housing stock perspective, is a number of townhome developments, new construction homes, and modern detached one and two-family Center Hall Colonials to name a few types of homes you will find here. Not to mention, there is also a good sized luxury home market here as well.

Quite a few busespass through the neighborhood of Woodrow. The local buses are the s55, the s56, and the s74. The s55 travels along Bloomingdale Road to get to Rossville or the Staten Island Mall, while the s56 travels along Arthur Kill Road to get to Huguenot or the Staten Island Mall, and the s74 also travels along Arthur Kill Road, but to get to the St. George Ferry terminal or the Bricktown Mall. The express buses in the area are the x22, which travels along Amboy Road; the x23, which travels along Woodrow Road; and the x24, which travels along Arden Avenue. These three express buses all take the Goethals Bridge to get into Midtown Manhattan.

There are many schools in and around the neighborhood of Woodrow. The public schools in the area are P.S. 56, at 250 Kramer Avenue; P.S. 3, at 80 South Goff Avenue; P.S. 5, at 348 Deisius Street; I.S. 75, at 455 Huguenot Avenue; I.S. 7, at 1270 Huguenot Avenue; and Tottenville High School, at 100 Luten Avenue. The nearest Catholic schools are the St. Joseph/St. Thomas School, at 50 Maguire Avenue; Our Lady Star of the Sea, at 5411 Amboy Road; and St. Joseph by the Sea High School, at 5150 Hylan Boulevard. Other private schools in the area include Gateway Academy, at 200 Boscombe Avenue; Yeshiva of Staten Island, at 1870 Drumgoole Road East; and the Francis School, at 4240 Amboy Road. The schools seen here may or may not be those area homes are zoned for. For School Zoning requirements check with your local public school board, or school administration to determine the specific zone for a particular address.